We all know a young prodigy is about to dazzle us in 2025. Connor Zilisch, who is just 18, is all set to embark on his full-time Xfinity Series ride under JR Motorsports. But don’t let his age fool you—Zilisch has already proven he’s a force to be reckoned with. He stunned everyone by winning his Xfinity debut at Watkins Glen last year, leaving his rivals in the dust. And that’s just one trophy in an already impressive collection.

But here’s where things get interesting. Trackhouse Racing, which doesn’t have a lower-tier team of its own, loaned Zilisch to JR Motorsports for his Xfinity run. While Dale Earnhardt Jr. is at the helm of JRM, the team has deep ties to Hendrick Motorsports. And with Rick Hendrick’s massive influence in the sport, it seems Trackhouse is starting to get a little protective over their rising star.

Rick Hendrick is denied the power

During his Cup Series career, Dale Jr had wheeled the No. 88 Chevrolet under Hendrick Motorsports. Naturally, his team also enjoyed benefits—JRM and HMS combined their Busch Series operations beginning in 2008. Since then, JRM cars have used Rick Hendrick’s engines, chassis, and vehicle engineering support. Justin Marks, Trackhouse Racing’s CEO, is well aware of this close relationship. However, he is not willing to let Hendrick extend his arms of control around Connor Zilisch.

NASCAR insider Bozi Tatarevic updated on Twitter that Trackhouse Racing will be closely supervising Connor Zilisch’s Xfinity stint this season. And, Justin Marks will not allow Rick Hendrick‘s hand in the pit crew. Tatarevic’s post read, “It looks like @ConnorZilisch will have a @TeamTrackhouse pit crew for his No. 88 at @JRMotorsports which makes sense as Trackhouse likely wants to be able to control as many variables as possible which they wouldn’t be able to do if he had an HMS crew like other JRM cars.”

Additionally, most members of the No. 88 pit crew are the people recruited from Daniel Suarez’s No. 99 Cup Series team.

This way, Trackhouse is making sure that Mr. H & Co. will not be able to dictate which people can work with Connor Zilisch. Tatarevic explained this further, as he wrote, “Pit crew providers can pick and choose who they assign to their leased teams so Trackhouse would be at the mercy of whatever rotations HMS put in place if the 88 was using an HMS crew. This way Trackhouse can decide who pits for Zilisch.” 

Besides its hand in the Xfinity Series, Trackhouse is also fielding Zilisch in his first-ever Cup Series race. The speedster will wheel the No. 87 Chevrolet at Circuit of the Americas.

And, we are aligned with Trackhouse Racing’s territorial attitude, as it has supported Connor Zilisch from the start.

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Marks saw that spark and held onto it

Even before making a splash in NASCAR, Connor Zilisch was a force to reckon with. He first carved out his skills during ten years in competitive kart racing. He won the top prize in the Mazda MX-5 Cup scholarship in 2021, and clinched second place in the 2022 standings.

In 2023, Zilisch won five of the 13 Trans-Am Series TA2 races that he entered with Silver Hare Racing. Incidentally, Justin Marks also raced in the Trans-Am Series against Zilisch and saw what a prodigy he is. Even after Trackhouse signed him up for a multi-year deal in early 2024, Zilisch continued to sparkle.

Zilisch picked up the LMP2 Class of the 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway. He also won his Sebring 12 endurance event. In the ARCA Menards Series, Zilisch won five of the eight races that he entered. Even before he achieved these, Justin Marks knew the power that the youngster had. Marks said in January 2024: “I have watched Connor grow from a youngster racing go-karts at the Trackhouse Motorplex to an up-close seat as he beat all of us in the Trans-Am race at VIR…This kid is an amazing talent who we wanted to be a part of the Trackhouse family. We are going to go slow with Connor and make sure he’s fully prepared as he advances in what we believe will be a long racing career.”

And Justin Marks is making clear that he wants to curtail Rick Hendrick’s influence in that career. We have got the whole season ahead, so let us see what magic Connor Zilisch conjures for us.